09 November 2007 Sparkling Shampaign

I always wondered if someone ever specifically sat down just to develop new words for the English vernacular. For example the marketing word prosumer, can it be tracked back to the person who first used it?

Well here I give you the first ever use of the word…

shampaign

n. sham·paigna campaign where the brand or product remains unknown until later revealed through subsequent marketing

The word shampaign is a portmanteau of the words sham and campaign. An online dictionary defines the word sham as “something false or empty that is purported to be genuine” and “one who assumes a false character” which I believe is somewhat appropriate and allows for a good play on words.

Shampaigns have become increasingly popular and will continue to do so. As viral marketing becomes mainsteam, we will see more and more shampaigns as this is a technique that creates talk and can successfully carries consumers from one media to another, for example a television commercial to a website.